Made In America 2013, Saturday: Beyoncé Does Sexy, Imagine Dragons Do America

Beyoncé didn’t headline the first night of the Made In America festival as much as the Mrs. Carter World Tour made a stop in Philadelphia. In an hour and a half she went through no less than 7 costumes, performed 17 songs and showed 7 short films. Girl got a lot done on the Rocky Steps.

What she brought to the Made In America party was grown woman sexuality. From rolling on the stage while singing “Make Love To Me” to twerking through “End Of Time” to everything about “Get Me Bodied,” Beyoncé gave the crowd a good, hard look at what a sexpot the mother of a toddler could be.

Almost more interesting than the songs, which were all the catalog tracks (heavy on the catalog, light on the hits) and none of her new stuff, were the between song short films. She explored the Marie Antoinette theme she’s been cultivating around her still forthcoming next album. She recreated some well-known pop culture moments with a film reminiscent of a ’90s Calvin Klein perfume ad and one that was distinctly Target-esque. But most touchingly was the film to tease “I Was Here.” The entire audience let out a big “aw” when Blue Ivy popped on the screen.

Jay Z was teased — he made a big trek across the grounds, just like he did last year, from Deadmau5’s stage to Beyoncé’s, and showed up in her act via some background vocals before “Crazy In Love,” but this was the Mrs. Carter Show — only Mrs. Carter. – Courtney E. Smith

“Sometimes it seems popular to hate on America,” Dan Reynolds said during Imagine Dragons‘ set, noting that the band are just returning to the country after touring abroad. “Sometimes the politics aren’t right, or the money isn’t right, but I love this country.” And Made In America reciprocated: they got lots of love, at least from the ladies, during “It’s Time.” Once they played their closer “Radioactive,” dudes and ladies got on their feet: guys too. By the way, it seems that Imagine Dragons is on the cusp of the trend: these days, everyone in a rock band gets a few drums of their own to bash on; we would see Haim and Walk The Moon do the same. – Brian Ives